


5 Times Steve Was Glad the Walls Couldn't Talk

by Karallaye



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Captain America, Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: 5+1 Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karallaye/pseuds/Karallaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And one time he wasn't so sure</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Steve Was Glad the Walls Couldn't Talk

**Author's Note:**

> I was struck by inspiration when I was talking to my sister about how the walls of our apartment were totally judging me. This is the result.

1.

_If these walls could talk._ That was a phrase that Steve's mom had said a lot when he was little. It would usually follow Steve coughing until he couldn’t breathe through the pain, or after his father had walked out after their latest shouting match. She had always been the one who cared about Steve’s well being the most, followed only by Bucky. Steve’s father had been lucky enough to hang on to his job after the market crashed, but even with that source of income, they still struggled to make ends meet.  

 

The earliest memory that Steve had held onto was being in a small one-room apartment, with just a bed pushed into the corner. Huddled up under some thick blankets while his mom was stirring a large stockpot of soup at the small stove. A few of the other children who lived in the building were playing with little toy cars on the floor. That was how he met Bucky. The soup his mom made always ended up shared with whoever was around and hungry. If the walls of that apartment could talk, they would share memories of crowded dinners, and Steve doodling animals on the wall in light pencil. But there were also the nights when nothing was warm, and he couldn't really breathe. And he was glad that the walls couldn't tell anyone his secrets, because he desperately didn't want to worry his mom. So the walls and Steve kept their pact, and when he had to slow down to breathe as deeply as he could, just to let his heart pound for a moment, he sagged against the stained whitewashed walls, and closed his eyes.

 

2.

When his parents passed and their landlord kicked him out, he went to live with Bucky. He found a job in a factory, and they moved into a small tenement on the lower east side. The loft was beautiful, taking up a large corner of the apartment building, and even had a private bathroom inside where Steve could soak in a tub of hot water and let the steam relax his chest until the water was cool again. They could only afford it because of the horror story that was attached to that loft. A man had gotten drunk and, while stumbling around, killed his wife in a fit of rage. When he woke the next morning, and encountered the blood splattered on the wall, he hung himself. Steve was sure that he didn’t want to know the details, and so he made a mission of scouring everything with the best soap they could afford, and making sure the walls couldn’t whisper anything more about the past.

 

Bucky was convinced that if Steve couldn’t work in the factory, then he should at least do something that he wanted to do, so any extra money they could scrape up went towards a few art classes on the side. Steve knew that the walls could probably tell him stories about what Bucky got up to in their apartment with all the girls he used to take out. He just usually waited an extra hour or two after his class was over, wandering around Brooklyn Heights, letting his friend finish his business.  And when America got involved in the war, their four walls bore witness to one of the worst fights Steve could remember having with his best friend. In the end, Bucky was gone, and Steve was left staring at nothing, and wishing he could take everything back.

 

3.

            Choosing to join the army was simultaneously one of the most difficult, and simple decisions Steve had ever made. Getting accepted into a special unit was unbelievable, and he took on everything they gave him with as much dignity and pride as he could muster. But by the end of each day, he was always drained. Their barracks were sparse, the wooden walls only provided the bare minimum of protection against the elements, but they did their job. They didn’t reveal to anyone that Steve woke up two hours earlier than anyone else, just to take a shower without anyone else around to see him limp out of bed.

           

            Steve cherished the memory of the night when Doctor Erskine came to talk to Steve, before the procedure that would change his life. While they had only spoken for a moment, the supportive words that Erskine had left him with still filled him with warmth whenever he had any doubts. He wasn’t sure how many proud moments those four walls had seen, but he hoped this was one that remained in their minds.  

 

4.

            Steve wasn’t sure if a tent counted as walls, but he usually had the same tent every night, when they had time to set up a full camp in the mountains or forests that they staked out. The time he spent with the Howling Commandos, moving through Europe, was like being at camp. He knew that there was a war going on, and men were putting their lives on the line each and every day, and he took that very seriously. But when the his guys were granted the luxury of being able to kick back around a small fire and let off some steam over a bottle or two, he wasn’t going to stop their fun.

 

            Boys will be boys, and now Steve is almost glad that no one else was around to hear the things they were all saying. Let’s just say, he learned a lot.

 

5.

            When Steve woke up, he immediately felt disconnected to the world around him. Finding out that the room he was in was totally fake was almost a relief, until he realized that the bigger room wasn’t much more than a cold steel and concrete chamber. Even though he still had his new body and strong lungs, he didn’t breathe easy until he was outside, and able to take in his new reality.

 

            When SHIELD let him have his own apartment in Brooklyn, he found himself aimlessly taking the subway around the city, and trying to find something that was the same. There were a lot of old buildings that he remembered, but could only stare at from the sidewalk, and sigh. Everything was private now, and most of the buildings that he remembered had been updated with new glass façades.

 

When one day, his train was delayed at the Borough Hall station, Steve jumped off the train, and wandered its maze of layers and platforms, rather than be stuck in a car that clearly wasn’t moving. He took the stairs two at a time, dragging his hand along the aged porcelain tiles, and smiled. _It was the same._ He could clearly remember jumping on the R with Bucky and heading to Coney Island. Steve laughed, and examined the mosaic that was partially covered in the grit of the city. He caught the eye of a girl with purple hair who was waiting for her train. She gave him a strange look, before reaching into her pocket and slowly pulling out a small bottle of what Steve now knew to be hand sanitizer. She continued giving him a weary look while offering the small bottle. With a small grimace, he accepted a small squirt of the cleanser, and tried not to think about what he had just touched, again finding himself glad that these walls couldn’t speak. It was probably for the best that he never find out.

 

+1.

            The Avengers tower wasn’t very confusing to figure out. There were floors for each Avenger, and a few shared floors for training, or eating, or just hanging out. After living there for about a month, it was easy to fall into a sort of pattern with the other avengers. Steve could understand the idea of living there with the team, to foster some sort of family unit. It was all well and good. Steve’s major issue with the tower was its sheer size. Finding anyone was a production all on its own. So when he finished making dinner in the communal kitchen, and the mouthwatering smell alone didn’t summon his fellow avengers, he looked up with a wry grin.

 

 

“Hey Jarvis?”

 

“Yes, Sir?”

 

“Can you let everyone know that dinner’s ready? I made pasta.”

 

“Of course, Sir”

 

“And if Tony doesn’t respond, tell him I’ll get Thor to drag him up out of that cave of his. Bruce too.”

 

“I will pass that along.”

 

“Thanks Jarvis,” Steve was sure he could hear a smile in Jarvis’ words. _And wasn’t that something._ Steve wasn’t completely positive that having walls actually talk was always the best thing, but this definitely had to be a perk. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Please review to let me know what you think. 
> 
> Also: The Court Street – Borough Hall Station is a real place in downtown Brooklyn, and it's been around since 1909. It connects three lines, and is really beautiful. Each layer depicts a different era of the Brooklyn Subway system. If you're in New York, I'd check it out!


End file.
